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Andrew Waltfeld
Andrew "Andy" Waltfeld is a fictional character in the Cosmic Era (CE) timeline of the Gundam anime metaseries. Nicknamed "Desert Tiger" (砂漠の虎 Sabaku no Tora), (a clear homage to Erwin Rommel, the "Desert Fox") Andrew Waltfeld is commander of the ZAFT forces in the PLANT-pledged African Community, headquartered at Banadiya, and is assisted by his executive officer Martin DaCosta. Andrew earned his nickname for his skill at desert combat, as demonstrated on May 30, CE 70 in the Battle of Suez, when he defeated a huge Eurasian Federation tank corps at El Alamein in Northern Africa, using TMF/A-802 BuCUEs and his cunning tactics. Andrew seems to have an obsession with coffee and experiments with different blends and flavors often making odd combinations for himself. He lives with his lover Aisha, who assists him in his military operations and eventually serves as the co-pilot of his TMF/A-803 LaGOWE. Not much is known about Aisha, and her last name is never mentioned, but Andrew clearly cares for Aisha very much; in both series he keeps a picture of her close by. His flagship is the land battleship Lesseps, which is escorted by the land cruisers Petrie and Henry Carter. Unlike other ZAFT and Earth Alliance officers, he is surprisingly human and well aware of the repercussions of war. In his initial appearances in Gundam SEED, he has his troops warn the people of Tassil, the city acting as a homebase for resistance group Desert Dawn, of an impending attack so that they can evacuate before their city is destroyed. His actions are easily misinterpreted and he is a scapegoat; the people believe that he was cruel to let them live while struggling to survive on very few supplies while Andrew had the intention that if they lived, at least they would have a chance of surviving rather than suffering death and loss of loved ones. He is suspicious of ZAFT High Commander Rau Le Creuset and hints at those feelings to Dearka Elsman and Yzak Joule, who were members of the infamous Le Creuset Team, when he first meets them. Gundam SEED African campaign While the Archangel is traveling through the desert, Andrew leads his forces to attack the ship. He quickly discerns that the pilot of the GAT-X105 Strike is a Coordinator, and a highly skilled one considering the pilot was able to adapt to the gravity of earth as well as the conditions of the environment quickly. He later meets Kira Yamato, the pilot of the Strike, and Cagalli Yula Athha when they are sent by the Archangel and Desert Dawn to gather supplies. Kira saves Andrew from a Blue Cosmos assassination. Even though they are fighting on opposite sides, Kira and Andrew actually grow fond of each other, which makes it very difficult for them to fight each other in their next and decisive battle. Kira asks Andrew to stop because the battle is over, but Andrew is determined to keep fighting until one of them is destroyed. He moves in for a final attack as the Strike loses its Phase Shift armor due to lack of power. Kira goes into SEED mode and destroys the TMF/A-803 LaGOWE that Andrew and Aisha is piloting. They embrace before the LaGOWE explodes, and Kira cries because he did not want to kill Andrew. In the manga Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Astray, it is revealed that Andrew is rescued by Junk Guild member Lowe Guele with the aid of Martin DaCosta. As thanks, he gives Lowe and his team the Lesseps land battleship, which they use to get to Orb. Three Ships Alliance The Desert Tiger reappears later in the PLANTs, having lost his left eye, left arm and right leg (which he replaced with an artificial leg), and, of course, Aisha. Andrew claims loyalty to Chairman Patrick Zala and is assigned as captain of the support ship ''Eternal''; however, along with Martin DaCosta and other Clyne Faction loyalists, he helps Lacus Clyne steal the ship and joins up with the Archangel and Orb's Kusanagi in their desperate fight against Patrick Zala, who had essentially taken over ZAFT, and his plans to bring the end of the world with GENESIS. Kira is shocked upon seeing Andrew, who he thought was dead, again. He tells Andrew that he has every right to want revenge, but Andrew shakes his head and says he will do no such thing - as they've both got an important job to do together. Towards the end of the series, Andrew helps the Three Ships Alliance bring an end to the war before the Earth Alliance and ZAFT destroy each other and all of humanity. Gundam SEED Destiny After the Bloody Valentine War, Andrew enlists in the Orb military and is given a field commission. He lives in the Orb Union with Murrue Ramius, who also lost a lover in the war. As an additive protection measure, his new (apparently fully-functional) cybernetic prosthetic arm conceals a shotgun. When Reverend Malchio's orphanage is destroyed by the fall of Junius Seven, Andrew and Murrue open their home to Malchio and his orphans, as well as Kira Yamato, Lacus Clyne, and Kira's adoptive mother, who had also been living at the orphanage. He alerted the ZAFT battleship Minerva of Orb's alliance with the Earth Alliance and told them to leave (he told them he was a messenger from Andrew Waltfeld, something Murrue giggled at). He planned on moving to the PLANTs with Kira, Lacus, and perhaps Murrue, because of Orb joining with the Earth Alliance; but this plan fell through due to the assassination attempt on Lacus. Return to the battlefield In CE 73, after an assassination attempt on Lacus, he leaves Orb aboard the Archangel joining Kira, Lacus, Murrue and many of the original Archangel crew. Murrue offers him command of the ship but he declines and instead serves as the ship's tactical and navigational officer as well as a mobile suit pilot with his custom MVF-M11C Murasame. When Lacus decides to return to space, Andrew goes with her in a goofy disguise, and the two operate from Terminal's asteroid base until early C.E. 74. His position as executive officer of the Archangel was replaced by lieutenant Amagi. When ZAFT forces discover the location of the Eternal, Andrew pilots a recolored ZGMF-X88S Gaia in an attempt to hold off the ZAFT forces until Kira appeared. After regrouping with Kira Yamato and the Archangel, Andrew returns to the Eternal and once again assumes command as her captain for the rest of the war, leading the support ship to the final battle of the Second Bloody Valentine War. Trivia *Originally, Andrew was supposed to have died along with Aisha in Gundam SEED when Kira destroyed their TMF/A-803 LaGOWE. However, he was such a popular character amongst fans that Mitsuo Fukuda brought him back, saying in an interview that there were not many "cool adults" left in the cast. He continued on to play an important role in Gundam SEED Destiny as well. *Prior to his return as a leader of the Clyne Faction, Andrew's role was very similar to that of Ramba Ral in Mobile Suit Gundam. Ironically, Ramba was voiced by Masashi Hirose, who later voiced Andrew's rival Sahib Ashman in Gundam SEED. Category:Cosmic Era characters Category:Fictional amputees Category:Fictional captains Category:Fictional commanders Category:Fictional cyborgs Category:Fictional genetically engineered characters Category:Fictional military personnel Category:2004 introductions